Political Quotes

“I was advised of that, and I wanted to double-check. Three weeks ago we passed a milestone in U.S. agriculture. The U.S. Department of Agriculture celebrated its 150th birthday. I take some pride in that coming from Illinois because it was President Abraham Lincoln who created the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He called it the people's department. Among other things, it became a launch pad for the development of the United States. It was during that same period of the Lincoln Presidency that they started the land-grant college system as well as the Transcontinental Railroad. These things literally settled and united our great Nation. Since its inception, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has played an important role supporting farmers, investing in rural communities, researching crops, diseases, production practices, increasing energy production, and helping to fight poverty. Now the Senate is turning to the debate on the 2012 farm bill that will carry forward the vision of our government's role in agriculture for the next 5 years. While much of the rest of the country has been struggling through a recession, agriculture in America has really remained a bright spot. We have seen record prices and record income in the farm sector. Last year farm revenues reached $98.1 billion. Times are good, but we cannot afford to forget for a moment that there is inherent risk in farming--risks that many other business do not face.…”